Sailplanes

"This is the closest man can come to being a bird," shouted 78-year-old Gus Briegleb as he caught the whirling dust devil and soared skyward at 500 feet per minute. Briegleb was piloting a two-place, slender-winged, silver with red trim Czechoslovakian Blanik--a sailplane, which has neither engine nor propeller. A few minutes later, he maneuvered the glider into an "airwave" rolling off Mt. Baldy, enjoying the exhilaration of surfboarding in the sky.

The body of a Mission Viejo man has been recovered from a rugged ravine in northwest Arizona, where he apparently crashed in a sail glider over weekend, authorities said Monday. Fritz Oskar Seger, 67, was reported missing at 6:30 p.m. Saturday when his companions lost sight of him during a long-distance sailplane flight from Las Vegas to Mesquite, Nev., according to Tonya Dowe, a spokeswoman for the Mojave County Sheriff's Department.

Bumping around in a plane without an engine doesn't sound like the greatest cure for open-heart surgery, but for Hal Lord, flying one of the sleek planes was just the treatment he needed. Lord didn't start flying a sailplane, a type of glider, until he was 65, and he wasn't about to let quadruple bypass surgery ground him. Now at the ripe old age of 69, Lord insists that flying has kept him young and vows that he'll keep at it until "they put me under."

It may sound like boasting when a small company's unofficial motto is, "We can build anything you can write a check for." But as the old baseball adage goes, "It ain't bragging if you can do it." Tor Jensen and Dewey Northcutt, experts in composite materials, have a tiny company, Norjen Engineering, that has built everything from a prototype body for a super-secret stealth attack helicopter for the U. S.

At first glance, the bluff overlooking a small stretch of coast behind the Torrey Pines golf course is nothing more than a barren field. But from this particular bluff you can: --Scurry down the long hot trail and onto the beach with your surfboard, and paddle into some of the best surf on the coast. --Scurry down without a board, scuttle your clothes and bask in the buff beneath the bluff. Black's Beach remains one of the few beaches in Southern California where nude sunbathing is practiced.

The body of a Mission Viejo man has been recovered from a rugged ravine in northwest Arizona, where he apparently crashed in a sail glider over weekend, authorities said Monday. Fritz Oskar Seger, 67, was reported missing at 6:30 p.m. Saturday when his companions lost sight of him during a long-distance sailplane flight from Las Vegas to Mesquite, Nev., according to Tonya Dowe, a spokeswoman for the Mojave County Sheriff's Department.

Business is on the rise at Advanced Soaring Concepts Inc. in Camarillo. In fact, Tor Jensen, president of the 15-month-old concern, makes the tongue-in-cheek claim that it's "the only growing aircraft manufacturer in California." Advanced produces the American Spirit, a fiberglass-and-aluminum sailplane kit that sells for $17,980. A sailplane is a engineless glider that must be launched from a tow plane.

A sailplane pilot was killed Wednesday when his aircraft plowed into a saguaro cactus that fell on him and apparently broke his neck, authorities said. Maricopa County Sheriff's Cpl. Jay Ellison said Seth M. Daniels, 35, of Carefree, Ariz., was trying to land the unpowered plane in high winds near Lake Pleasant when the left wing dipped and veered into the 20-foot high cactus.

The first thing you notice about soaring, Larry Sanderson says, is the strength of the sailplane, the sense of security you have even though you are in an aircraft with no engine. Sanderson, executive director of the Soaring Society of America, should know: He's taken dozens of people up for their first glider rides. Next, it's the view. "The glider canopy is incredible in its visibility," Sanderson says.

Polly Ridgway has what she calls a very serious habit. She developed it about 7 1/2 years ago and now has to get a "fix" for her habit at least five times a day. For Ridgway, 27, her addiction is experiencing something usually reserved for eagles and hawks: soaring. Birds do it with wings. Ridgway uses a sailplane to glide through the sky with nothing more than the wind and rising air to propel her above the Warner Springs Valley, where she teaches other people how to soar.

Business is on the rise at Advanced Soaring Concepts Inc. in Camarillo. In fact, Tor Jensen, president of the 15-month-old concern, makes the tongue-in-cheek claim that it's "the only growing aircraft manufacturer in California." Advanced produces the American Spirit, a fiberglass-and-aluminum sailplane kit that sells for $17,980. A sailplane is a engineless glider that must be launched from a tow plane.

At first glance, the bluff overlooking a small stretch of coast behind the Torrey Pines golf course is nothing more than a barren field. But from this particular bluff you can: --Scurry down the long hot trail and onto the beach with your surfboard, and paddle into some of the best surf on the coast. --Scurry down without a board, scuttle your clothes and bask in the buff beneath the bluff. Black's Beach remains one of the few beaches in Southern California where nude sunbathing is practiced.

"This is the closest man can come to being a bird," shouted 78-year-old Gus Briegleb as he caught the whirling dust devil and soared skyward at 500 feet per minute. Briegleb was piloting a two-place, slender-winged, silver with red trim Czechoslovakian Blanik--a sailplane, which has neither engine nor propeller. A few minutes later, he maneuvered the glider into an "airwave" rolling off Mt. Baldy, enjoying the exhilaration of surfboarding in the sky.

Bumping around in a plane without an engine doesn't sound like the greatest cure for open-heart surgery, but for Hal Lord, flying one of the sleek planes was just the treatment he needed. Lord didn't start flying a sailplane, a type of glider, until he was 65, and he wasn't about to let quadruple bypass surgery ground him. Now at the ripe old age of 69, Lord insists that flying has kept him young and vows that he'll keep at it until "they put me under."

The first thing you notice about soaring, Larry Sanderson says, is the strength of the sailplane, the sense of security you have even though you are in an aircraft with no engine. Sanderson, executive director of the Soaring Society of America, should know: He's taken dozens of people up for their first glider rides. Next, it's the view. "The glider canopy is incredible in its visibility," Sanderson says.

A sailplane pilot was killed Wednesday when his aircraft plowed into a saguaro cactus that fell on him and apparently broke his neck, authorities said. Maricopa County Sheriff's Cpl. Jay Ellison said Seth M. Daniels, 35, of Carefree, Ariz., was trying to land the unpowered plane in high winds near Lake Pleasant when the left wing dipped and veered into the 20-foot high cactus.

It may sound like boasting when a small company's unofficial motto is, "We can build anything you can write a check for." But as the old baseball adage goes, "It ain't bragging if you can do it." Tor Jensen and Dewey Northcutt, experts in composite materials, have a tiny company, Norjen Engineering, that has built everything from a prototype body for a super-secret stealth attack helicopter for the U. S.

A camouflage-colored C-130 sat on the runway. Its four engines were silent, but an armored tank had just rolled out of its cargo bay. Down the runway sat a Pitts S2-A, a vintage biplane known for its acrobatic maneuvers. Its distinctive red and white paint gleamed in the sun. Even though these planes are just as airworthy as their full-size counterparts, they are only a fraction of the size. The C-130 has a wing span of 135 inches. The Pitts has a 68-inch wing span.

Polly Ridgway has what she calls a very serious habit. She developed it about 7 1/2 years ago and now has to get a "fix" for her habit at least five times a day. For Ridgway, 27, her addiction is experiencing something usually reserved for eagles and hawks: soaring. Birds do it with wings. Ridgway uses a sailplane to glide through the sky with nothing more than the wind and rising air to propel her above the Warner Springs Valley, where she teaches other people how to soar.